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The EU is letting the world down. With Greece being downgraded to junk status and Portugal also being downgraded, the European contagion might spread all the way up through Spain, Ireland, Italy, and then the big boys Germany, France, and the UK.
This is the folly of not putting in a stimulus package the way China and the US have done.

You mean http://www.badmintoncentral.com/foru....php?p=1367917
post #321?
Man, you are just 2 month late.
Beside, it is each country's responsibility to get their house in order. Did you read the news that Greece use trick accounting to get better terms than they should when entering EU? So who is letting who down? Also, please read a little more on why Greece is limited in option on what they can do in stimulation.

The EU is letting the world down. With Greece being downgraded to junk status and Portugal also being downgraded, the European contagion might spread all the way up through Spain, Ireland, Italy, and then the big boys Germany, France, and the UK.
This is the folly of not putting in a stimulus package the way China and the US have done.

how do u know the china plan is working better?
todate, china lent out $2 trillions to business, and $600 billions on stimulus.
Did china got 2.6 trillions worth of economy upturn? I hear that china has many empty new high rises, many expressway lead to nowhere.

how do u know the china plan is working better?
todate, china lent out $2 trillions to business, and $600 billions on stimulus.
Did china got 2.6 trillions worth of economy upturn? I hear that china has many empty new high rises, many expressway lead to nowhere.

One of the possible solutions for the Greece crisis is to ask China for more loans, according to reports in Germany. Any loan to Greece will be a tiny drop in the ocean for China, according to a German newspaper.
But why would China want to do that if Germany is dragging her feet?

GM sells more cars in China than in the US. VW, Europe's largest auto maker, sells more VW in China than in Germany.

China has already started to slow down and trim back its stimulus and it still expects to end the year with a gdp growth of more than 10%, perhaps 12%.
China's domestic consumption is expected to rise significantly, unlike almost all western countries on the decline, and its imports will grow at rates that will more than triple its exports.

I have been in this part of the world long enough to see China's growth with my own eyes-travelling to China since the early 1980s-to be a witness to one of the greatest economic miracles in our lifetime.
BTW, except for the word Chinese communist party, communism as understood by the west does not exist in China anymore.
The arrival of the internet, which soothsayers in the west prematurely predicted (wrongly) would be the beginning of the end of government in China. How things have turned out differently. As a matter of fact China's internet users, the worlds largest, are actually making the Chinese government more secure and more efficient.

It would be wise for the west to be engaged with China. Before you can blink your eyes, China may leap further ahead at rates that could be greater than the last 2 decades.

The size of new loans to bail out Greece may look huge, US$40 billion from the EU plus US$19.9 billion from the IMF, but this is just about the size of a grand party that China throws once in a while.
Shanghai's world expo has spent a total of USS57 billion. They do this with no borrowing.
Maybe Greece's 2004 Olympics in Athens was what tippid them over the precipice.
England be warned : the 2012 London Olympics could be another Greece in the making. The UKs debt is as bad as Greece's, only marginally better. Don't play with fire and pride sometimes come before the fall.

AP – President Barack Obama gives the commencement address at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Saturday, …

By PETE YOST and MARK S. SMITH, Associated Press Writers Pete Yost And Mark S. Smith, Associated Press Writers – 2 hrs 12 mins ago
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – In a blunt caution to political friend and foe, President Barack Obama said Saturday that partisan rants and name-calling under the guise of legitimate discourse pose a serious danger to America's democracy, and may incite "extreme elements" to violence.
The comments, in a graduation speech at the University of Michigan's huge football stadium, were Obama's most direct take about the angry politics that have engulfed his young presidency after long clashes over health care, taxes and the role of government.
Not 50 miles from where Obama spoke, the GOP's 2008 vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, denounced his policies as "big government" strategies being imposed on average Americans. "The fundamental transformation of America is not what we all bargained for," she told 2,000 activists at a forum in Clarkston, sponsored by the anti-tax Americans for Prosperity Foundation.
Obama drew repeated cheers in Michigan Stadium from a friendly crowd that aides called the biggest audience of his presidency since the inauguration. The venue has a capacity of 106,201, and university officials distributed 80,000 tickets — before they ran out.

In his 31-minute speech, Obama didn't mention either Palin or the tea party movement that's captured headlines with its fierce attacks on his policies. But he took direct aim at the anti-government language so prevalent today.

"What troubles me is when I hear people say that all of government is inherently bad," Obama said after receiving an honorary doctor of laws degree. "When our government is spoken of as some menacing, threatening foreign entity, it ignores the fact that in our democracy, government is us."
Government, he said, is the roads we drive on and the speed limits that keep us safe. It's the men and women in the military, the inspectors in our mines, the pioneering researchers in public universities.
The financial meltdown dramatically showed the dangers of too little government, he said, "when a lack of accountability on Wall Street nearly led to the collapse of our entire economy."
But Obama was direct in urging both sides in the political debate to tone it down. "Throwing around phrases like 'socialists' and 'Soviet-style takeover,' 'fascists' and 'right-wing nut' — that may grab headlines," he said. But it also "closes the door to the possibility of compromise. It undermines democratic deliberation," he said.
"At its worst, it can send signals to the most extreme elements of our society that perhaps violence is a justifiable response."
Passionate rhetoric isn't new, he acknowledged. Politics in America, he said, "has never been for the thin-skinned or the faint of heart. ... If you enter the arena, you should expect to get roughed up."
Obama hoped the graduates hearing his words can avoid cynicism and brush off the overheated noise of politics. In fact, he said, they should seek out opposing views.
His advice: If you're a regular Glenn Beck listener, then check out the Huffington Post sometimes. If you read The New York Times editorial page the morning, then glance every now and then at The Wall Street Journal.
"It may make your blood boil. Your mind may not be changed. But the practice of listening to opposing views is essential for effective citizenship," he said.
The speech was part of a busy weekend for the president: the White House Correspondents' Association dinner Saturday evening near the White House and visit the Gulf Coast on Sunday morning for a firsthand update on the massive oil spill.
Obama's helicopter landed on a grass practice football field next to the stadium on a damp, overcast day. Students and their families had been streaming in since early morning, many toting rain gear.
The president's appearance in Michigan — a battleground in the 2008 White House race that's likely to play a big role in the fall congressional campaign — comes as the state struggles with the nation's highest unemployment rate, 14.1 percent. It's also has an unhappy electorate to match.
In the Republican's weekly radio and Internet address, Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich, said Obama's visit was a chance "to show the president, firsthand, the painful plight of the people of Michigan."
Many of the graduates Obama addresses will soon learn how tough it is to find a job in this economy, Hoekstra said, adding that the share of young Americans out of work is the highest it's been in more than 50 years.
Speaking before Obama was Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who's known to be on his short list of possible Supreme Court nominees. She said Michigan residents owe him thanks for "delivering on health care reform" and "for supporting our auto industry. General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, they all have bright futures now, where a year ago, much darker clouds than these loomed overhead."
Obama's speech was the first of four he is giving this commencement season.
On May 9, he'll speak at Hampton University, a historically black college in Hampton, Va., founded in 1868 on the grounds of a former plantation.
He's also addressing Army cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., on May 22, continuing a tradition of presidents addressing graduates at the service academies. He announced his Afghanistan troop surge at West Post last December.
Also this year, for the first time, Obama plans a high school commencement. It's part of his "Race to the Top" education initiative, with its goal of boosting the United States' lagging graduation rate to the world's best by 2020.
High schools across the country have competed for the honor, submitting essays and videos. A vote on the White House website yielded three finalists, and Obama will choose among them next week.

- FBI to arrest terrorist that evening but tv news tip off the terrorist.
- terrorist bought one way ticket on his way to the airport, paid cash
- terrorist's name on no-fly list but airline didn't check and/or didn't use up to date no fly list

.WASHINGTON – The no-fly list failed to keep the Times Square suspect off the plane.

Faisal Shahzad boarded a jetliner bound for the United Arab Emirates Monday night before federal authorities pulled him back. Although under surveillance since midafternoon, he had managed to elude investigators and head to the airport.

The night's events, gradually coming to light, underscored the flaws in the nation's aviation security system, which despite its technologies, lists and information sharing, often comes down to someone making a right call.

As federal agents closed in, Faisal Shahzad was aboard Emirates Flight 202. He reserved a ticket on the way to John F. Kennedy International Airport, paid cash on arrival and walked through security without being stopped.

By the time Customs and Border Protection officials spotted Shahzad's name on the passenger list and recognized him as the bombing suspect they were looking for, he was in his seat and the plane was preparing to leave the gate. They knew to look for him because of updates to the no-fly list made earlier in the day.

At the last minute, the pilot was notified, the jetliner's door was opened and Shahzad was taken into custody.

After authorities pulled Shahzad off the plane, he admitted he was behind the crude Times Square car bomb, officials said. He also claimed to have been trained at a terror camp in Pakistan's lawless tribal region of Waziristan, according to court documents. That raised increased concern that the bombing was an international terror plot.

Shahzad had been under constant watch at his Bridgeport, Conn., home since 3 p.m. Monday and federal authorities had planned to arrest him there that evening, two people familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press. Authorities believe he decided to flee after being spooked by news reports that investigators were seeking a Pakistani suspect in Connecticut, one of the people said.

Shahzad somehow lost the investigators who were trailing him, the two people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the incident.

The FBI and the NYPD declined to comment.

The Obama administration played down the fact that Shahzad, a U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, made it aboard the plane. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wouldn't talk about it, other than to say Customs officials prevented the plane from taking off. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the security system has fallback procedures in place for times like this, and they worked.

And Attorney General Eric Holder said he "was never in any fear that we were in danger of losing him."

The no-fly list is supposed to mean just that. And Shahzad's name was added to the list early Monday afternoon as a result of breaking developments in the investigation, according to a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

But when Emirates sold the ticket, it was working off an outdated list. Airline officials would have had to check a Web forum where updates are sent if it were to flag him. Because they didn't, law enforcement officials were not aware of his travel plans until they received the passenger list 30 minutes before takeoff, the official said.

By that time, passengers are usually on board.

Gibbs blamed the airline but emphasized a more positive bottom line: U.S. authorities did get Shahzad on the no-fly list and he never took off.

"There's a series of built-in redundancies, this being one of them," Gibbs said. "If there's a mistake by a carrier, it can be double-checked."

The list is only as good as the nation's intelligence and the experts who analyze it. If a lead is not shared, or if an analyst is unable to connect one piece of information to another, a terrorist could slip onto an airplane because his name is not on the watch list.

Officials allege that's just what took place ahead of the attempted Christmas Day attack on a Detroit-bound jet. In the case of the Times Square suspect, the intelligence process worked: Shahzad's name was on the list, but the airlines didn't check it when he bought his ticket.

Shahzad went through normal airport security before he boarded the plane. He was unarmed and had no explosive material on him when he was arrested.

Emirates did not return repeated calls for comments. Earlier in the day, the company issued a general statement saying it was cooperating with investigators and takes every precaution to ensure its passengers' safety.

The reliance on airlines to check government lists has been a known problem for years. The government has long planned to take over the responsibility for matching passengers to watch lists, but the transition has taken longer than expected. The new program is still in the test phase for domestic airlines and is still months away from beginning with international carriers.

well, US is not out of the wood either, some states are in same or worst shape than Greece.

Cooler, the US is the world's printing press. So what is the problem? All they need to do is be nice with countries that have significant holdings of US treasury bills.
Congress may complain that this means the US's national security is at risk if it is so dependent on foreign countries. They have two options. One is pass a law forbidding any more foreign borrowings, to reduce dependence on foreign money. This way is the way to Greece.
Another option is to continue the printing press. This is the American way, and frankly I see no alternative. But this way means the Chinese will own some chunks of Americas economy, and also Canada's.
In short there is no magic wand.

Cooler, the US is the world's printing press. So what is the problem? All they need to do is be nice with countries that have significant holdings of US treasury bills.
Congress may complain that this means the US's national security is at risk if it is so dependent on foreign countries. They have two options. One is pass a law forbidding any more foreign borrowings, to reduce dependence on foreign money. This way is the way to Greece.
Another option is to continue the printing press. This is the American way, and frankly I see no alternative. But this way means the Chinese will own some chunks of Americas economy, and also Canada's.
In short there is no magic wand.

funny that u supported obama's expensive health reform bills but bash US on over spending. Remember, US can play the spend and borrow game when china is a willing dancing partner. U think china holding all those US papers should be smiling and feeling content?? 3rd way is for the US fill to the brim with debt, and then devalue their dollars by half, china will be holding papers worth 1/2 instantly and US just reduce their debt by 50% instantly. lol